Wizards of Waverly Place
Wizards of Waverly Place is a live-action Disney Channel Original Series which premiered on October 12,2007 on Disney Channel. The series focuses on the three Russo children who, on the surface, seem to be normal teens, but are actually wizards in training. The Russo children are competing within their family to be the best wizard, as he or she will get to keep their powers as an adult. On April 9, 2008, it was announced that Wizards of Waverly Place would return for a second season in 2008. Disney Channel MediaNet Season Two started filming May 2008. Premise The show centers upon Alex Russo, her older brother Justin, and their younger brother Max. The three live with their stern, disciplinary father, Jerry, and their eccentric Latina mother, Theresa. Jerry was a wizard when he was young and was able to keep his powers, since he proved to be the better wizard in the family (better than his older brother). However, it is said that wizards can not marry non-wizards, so Jerry gave up his powers to marry Theresa. Alex often gets into trouble by using magic unsupervised, and learns lessons and morals that span among friends, family, and school. When they reach adulthood, the three will compete to see who gets to keep their adult powers. A DVD release entitled Wizards of Waverly Place Wizard School is to be released July 29. This is the first volume of the series. Cast *Selena Gomez as Alex Russo *David Henrie as Justin Russo *Jake T. Austin as Max Russo *David DeLuise as Jerry Russo *Maria Canals Barrera as Theresa Russo *Jennifer Stone as Harper Evans Casting Gomez, Henrie, Austin and Canals all had roles in another Disney Channel series. DeLuise and Stone have never, although Stone will soon. The writers originally struggled with naming the characters; there were originally supposed to be two children: Jordan (later Justin) and Julia (later Brooke, then Alex), but that was changed after Jake T. Austin was hired. Jennifer Stone plays Harper, Alex's best friend. Recurring characters *'Amanda' (Amanda Tepe) is the recurring character with the most appearances. She appears in almost every episode, playing a random character who speaks with a boring, monotone drawl. Jobs she has held include department store manager, waitress, frozen yogurt store manager, hotel maitre'd, security guard, and the information desk lady at Volcano Land, which is her latest job. Her last job at Volcano Land shows that she may know something about magic herself due to that volcano land is a wizard theme park that only wizards can obtain access to. *'Gertrude "Gigi" Hollingsworth' (Skyler Samuels) is Alex's rival. She has tried to embarrass Alex ever since they were in kindergarten when Gigi spilled juice on Alex's mat during naptime and said Alex had an "accident." Another one of Gigi's targets is Alex's best friend, Harper. Gigi invited Harper to her annual tea party with the purpose of crowning her as the biggest loser at the tea. She has appeared in the episodes, Crazy Ten Minute Sale and Alex's Choice. *'Miranda Hampson' (Lucy Hale) is Justin's goth girlfriend. She really likes Justin - according to Alex, she "brightens from tragic to gloomy when they're together" and wants to kiss him. She is very fond of the color black and hates Corporate America. Harper believes that the reason Justin is dating Miranda is that Miranda looks very much like her. She has appeared in the episodes, First Kiss and Pop Me and We Both Go Down. However, in the episode The Supernatural, Justin and Miranda seem to have broken up because Justin tries to impress another girl by joining the school's football team. *'Frankie' (Paulie Litt) is Justin's rival. He seems to have a crush on Alex and Harper, and he is often seen scamming Justin and Max. Although he is just a child, Frankie seems to have the personality of an old time Italian gangster. Frankie has a similar personality to Stanley in That's So Raven and Rico in Hannah Montana. They are all short in height, they seem to have a crush on the female main character, and they are seen scamming the male main character. He has appeared in the episodes, New Employee and Curb Your Dragon. Episodes Spells Spell Improvisation/Make-'em-up Spells: * Satisfy my empty belly, make me a peanut butter and jelly turns someone into a PB&J sandwich. Used in the episode, Movies by Max Russo. *'Although I like such tasty snacks, I'd rather have my brother Max' turned Max, the PB&J sandwich, back into a human. Used in Movies by Alex Russo. *'I'm old enough to hang with actress/model/spokeswoman Ruby Donahue, so get me into "Night of the Halloween Sorority Party Disaster 2"' got Alex literally into the movie, "Night of the Halloween Sorority Party Disaster 2". Used in Movies by Alex Russo. *'We've had enough of all this fear, so hurry up and get us outta here' got Alex and Justin away from the masked villain in the movie. Used in Movies by Justin Russo. * I'm scared of what might happen next, so take us to the Mondoplex got Justin and Alex out of the movie and back into the theater lobby. Used in Movies by Justin Russo. Additionally, there were spells used by T.J. Taylor in which no incantation was given. Other magical items DVD Releases Wizard School, is a 4 episodes DVD, already listed in Amazon.com, to be released in July 29, 2008 in the US. Production iTunes released the pilot episode as a free download on October 5, 2007, and on October 12, 2007 iTunes required it to be purchased. It first aired in Canada on October 26, 2007, airing on Family Channel, and first aired on Disney Channel UK on November 3, 2007. On its premiere night, it received 5.93 million viewers.Top Ratings The tag lines in advertisements are "They've got the power!", "Three typical teens, where everything is not what it seems" and "Being a teenager can be tricky." It was one of the Effect of the 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike on television|many shows affected by the 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike. Just shortly after the show's premiere, the writing was halted due to the strike.http://hollywoodstrike.blogspot.com/2007/11/wga-strike-updated-strike-affected-show.html They are currently producing finished scripts of new episodes. David Henrie has confirmed that he has written an episode for Season 2. Settings The show is primarily set on the Waverly Place street in Manhattan. *'Waverly Sub Station' is the Russo Family's sandwich shop. All three kids work and hang out there. It resembles a typical New York City Subway station. *'The Magic Lair' is where the Russo kids have magic class with their father. Normally, it is a freezer but can be turned magically into the Lair. *'The Loft' is where the Russo family lives. It is also connected to the magic lair and the Waverly Sub Station. *'Waverly Place' is outside of the Waverly Sub Station. Mainly, the pedestrian-only alleyway is shot and Waverly Place is only shot on certain occasions like in the episode First Kiss, prior to the crystal ball scene. *'Tribeca Prep' is the school that Justin, Alex, Max, and their friends attend. *'Suburban Outfitters' is the store where the Crazy Ten Minute Sale occurred. *'Medium Rare' is the restaurant where Alex, Harper, Riley, and their friends went to in the episode, I Almost Drowned in a Chocolate Fountain. *'Gurt Barn' is a frozen yogurt shop where Harper worked when she quit/was fired from working at the Waverly Sub Station in the episode, New Employee. *'Mars' is the planet where Justin, Alex, and Max transported to in the episode, Disenchanted Evening. *'Hotel "Fleur-De-Vla De-Vra Flu-Fla De-Vra Du-Fla"' is the hotel where Gigi had her "loser tea" in the episode, Alex's Choice. The name is French. *'The Hudson Dog Show' is where the dog show occurred in the episode, Curb Your Dragon. *'The Mondoplex' is the cinema where Justin's older friends invited Alex to see an R-rated movie, "Night of the Halloween Sorority Party Disaster 2". It is presumed that this is the same cinema where Justin and Miranda went to for a date. *'The Zeta Beta Sorority House' is where Alex accidentally ended up in when she tried to see an R-rated movie, in which she was not old enough to see. *'China' is the country where the Loft moved to when Max's full powers were settling in. *'Hawaii' is the state where the Loft also moved to. *'Genie's Lamp' is the place where Jerry taught Justin, Alex, and Max about genies in the episode, Justin's Little Sister. *'Wiz Tech' is the wizard school that Justin and Alex attend over the summer in the two-part episode, Wizard School. *'Volcano Land' is a volcano on the outskirts of Wiz Tech that Alex traveled to, and the place that Dr. Evilini planned to drain Justin's powers, in the two-part episode, Wizard School. *'Baseball Field' is where Jerry's baseball team (The Aztecs) played baseball. Justin was part of the team. *'The Store' is the place Alex animated a Mannequin in the episode Alex's Spring Fling (This episode hasn't aired yet but can be seen on YouTube.) *'Basketball Game' is the place where Alex and Uncle Kelbo went when they were up in the wizards box in the episode Alex in the Middle *'Abercrombie and Witch' is a fictional teen store that Alex shops at. First used in Curb Your Dragon. International Broadcast ''Wizards of Waverly Place '' is broadcast on the following stations around the world: References External links * Official site * * * Wizards of Waverly Place Fans * Save Wizards? * Behind-the-scenes pictures * Category:2000s American television series Category:2007 television series debuts Category:American children's comedy series Category:American television sitcoms Category:Disney Channel shows Category:Family Channel shows Category:Television series by Disney Category:Television shows set in New York da:Magi på Waverly Place es:Los Magos de Waverly Place España/Spain es:Los Hechiceros de Waverly Place Latinoamérica/Latinamerica fr:Les Sorciers de Waverly Place it:I maghi di Waverly no:Magikerne på Waverly Place pl:Czarodzieje z Waverly Place pt:Wizards of Waverly Place ja:ウェイバリー通りのウィザードたち fi:Waverly Placen velhot